The Thomas Aveling School
Arethusa Road, Rochester, ME1 2UW
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- BEYOND SCHOOLS TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Fiona Linter
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- FPTA Academies (Fort Pitt Grammar School and The Thomas Aveling School)
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment
- Constituency
- Chatham and Aylesford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,204
- Pupils on roll
- 1,201
- URN
- 137376
- Local authority
- Medway
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01634844809
About this school
The Thomas Aveling School is a secondary academy in Rochester. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,201 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 14 September 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 195 | 190 | 217 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.8 | 42.9 | 41.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.27 +0.07 to +0.47 | +0.16 -0.04 to +0.36 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 40% | 26.8% | 25.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 63% | 69.5% | 55.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 24% | 18.9% | 31.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How The Thomas Aveling School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Medway average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 43.8 | 34 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 42.9 | 36 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.3 | 36.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,205 |
| 2023/24 | 1,234 |
| 2024/25 | 1,212 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Thomas Aveling School compares
The Thomas Aveling School ranked 10th of 18 secondary schools in Medway for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.3 | 9.4% | 33.4% | 1,201 | — |
| Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School | 69.5 | 3.7% | 10.8% | 1,555 | 0.5 miles |
| The Rochester Grammar School | 68.4 | 4.4% | 11.7% | 1,206 | 0.5 miles |
| Holcombe Grammar School | 62.4 | 5.4% | 13.3% | 1,060 | 0.7 miles |
| St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School | 40 | 8.1% | 35.6% | 1,084 | 1.1 miles |
| Fort Pitt Grammar School | 65.9 | 6.2% | 14.9% | 1,009 | 1.2 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 33.37%
- English as an additional language
- 12.6%
- Overall absence
- 9.41%
- Persistent absence
- 26.48%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School0.5 miles
Secondary · Rochester
-
The Rochester Grammar School0.5 miles
Secondary · Rochester
-
Holcombe Grammar School0.7 miles
Secondary · Chatham
-
St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School1.1 miles
Secondary · Rochester
-
Fort Pitt Grammar School1.2 miles
Secondary · Chatham
Other schools in Rochester
The Thomas Aveling School ranks 4th of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Rochester.
- Leigh Academy Strood Secondary
- Maritime Academy Secondary
- Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School Secondary
- St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School Secondary
- The Rochester Grammar School Secondary
- All Faiths Children's Academy Primary
- Balfour Infant School Primary
- Bligh Primary School (Infants) Primary
- Bligh Primary School (Juniors) Primary
- Burham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Cedar Children's Academy Primary
- Chattenden Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Thomas Aveling School teach?
- The Thomas Aveling School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Rochester.
- Who is the headteacher of The Thomas Aveling School?
- The headteacher of The Thomas Aveling School is Mrs Fiona Linter, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Thomas Aveling School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Thomas Aveling School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is The Thomas Aveling School?
- The Thomas Aveling School has 1,201 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Thomas Aveling School full?
- The Thomas Aveling School has capacity for 1,204 pupils and 1,201 on roll (100%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is The Thomas Aveling School a faith school?
- No. The Thomas Aveling School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Thomas Aveling School a selective school?
- No. The Thomas Aveling School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Thomas Aveling School?
- The Thomas Aveling School is part of BEYOND SCHOOLS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The Thomas Aveling School have?
- The schools register lists The Thomas Aveling School's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Thomas Aveling School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.8 in 2022/23 and 41.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Thomas Aveling School rank locally?
- The Thomas Aveling School ranked 10th of 18 secondary schools in Medway for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Thomas Aveling School's absence rate?
- The Thomas Aveling School's overall absence rate is 9.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Thomas Aveling School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Thomas Aveling School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.